So You Think You Can Dance judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy have warmed the hearts of America for 11 season on Fox’s hit show! While dancers have trouble deciding which one is their favorite, clearly viewers love them both because they are the only two judges who’ve been there every season, while the third seat is in constant rotation. We were invited to the Orpheum theatre in downtown Los Angeles for an Exclusive sneak peek into the season 11 auditions. We spoke to both Nigel and Mary, who opened up about escaping years of physical and mental abuse by gaining strength through dance. And what it feels like to make dreams come true on season 11!

How Did You Learn To Love Yourself Through Dance?

“It saved my life. It’s no secret, I was in an extremely abusive relationship. And when I walked into a dance studio for a summer job while he was away, I kept a little bit, piece by piece when you learn dance you start to pick up your self esteem again. And you get a little but stronger and a little bit stronger until I was able to leave after all those years. So, it certainly means a lot to me because I know what it can do for somebody. It certainly gave me a purpose and it also made me feel like a human being again! It made me feel sexy again because when you’re in a situation like that you don’t feel sexy. You are humiliated and you feel ugly. You know the longer that you’re in something like that. So, for me it gave me the final courage to leave in the middle of the night.”

Executive Producer and lovable judge Nigel Lythgoe admitted that he would never win SYTYCD if he was a contestant in season 11. However, this year the show will be featuring dance crews that viewers get to vote for on twitter. The winning crew will have the opportunity to appear on the show and Nigel may be up for starting his own crew and getting in on the competition!

If Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy and Adam Shankman formed their own crew, what would be the name of the crew?